Lucas Sang, an elite 400 and 800 meter runner who ran with 1988 gold medalist Paul Ereng, on the Kenyan 4 x 400 meters team in Seoul, was killed in his hometown of Eldoret, Kenya while walking home. Sang was one of the victims of serious uprisings in Kenya, questioning the recent national election.
We reprint here a fine piece written by Bob Ramsak of Track Profile.com, and a prolific reporter for the IAAF:
Lucas Sang, a member of the Kenyan 4x400m Relay squad at the 1988 Olympics, was killed in his hometown of Eldoret on Tuesday when violence spread throughout the country in the wake of last week’s disupted presidential elections in Kenya.
Sang, 45, was attacked and hacked to death while walking home, AFP reported on Wednesday.
At the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, Sang ran the second leg on the Kenyan relay team, which finished eighth. His 45.08 leg was the fastest of the quartet, which also included Paul Ereng, who captured the Olympic 800m title that year. Sang was also a quarterfinalist in the 400m in Seoul, and was known as a strong 800m runner as well.
“Lucas was a great friend whom I could count on at any time,†said Ereng, a two-time World indoor 800m champion, a former coach at the IAAF High Performance Training Center in Eldoret, and now the head cross country and distance coach at the University of Texas-El Paso.
“I knew him as a straight forward sportsman who practiced the principal of Olympics spirit on the track and later on in his daily undertakings. Fairness was always evident in whatever Lucas was dealing with.â€
After his retirement as an athlete, Sang become a successful farmer in Eldoret, but remained involved in athletics until his untimely death.
“Lucas was always easy to get along with and he got along with most people,†Ereng said. “He and I continued our relationship as friends later in farming and in promoting athletics in Kenya after we had retired from competitive running.â€
Sang was elected chairman of athletics in the Rift Valley’s Usian Gishu District in 2000, and later that same year was elected treasurer of the National Association of Kenyan Olympiads (NAKO), a position he held until his death.
“I have lost a brother in sports and Kenya has lost a patriot, a great athlete and a precious human being,†Ereng said. “I will mourn his death and miss him greatly.â€
ENDS
—– —————————————–
The TRACK PROFILE REPORT is a news and feature service published by the Track Profile News Service. In addition to regularly dispatched news, profile and interview features, subscribers also receive exclusive on-site updates from major national and international competitions, usually within 24 hours. Copyright (c) 2007 by Bob Ramsak and TRACK PROFILE. All rights reserved. Reproduction, republication, reposting and retransmission in ANY form is strictly prohibited without express permission from the editor. Small portions may be reproduced ONLY if accompanied by source citation and *ADVANCE* notice in writing to Track Profile. Please contact the editor at bob@trackprofile.com for reprint permission. [ Visit www.trackprofile.com for more. ]
—– —————————————–
The TRACK PROFILE Report is sponsored in part by Shooting Star Media, Inc., publisher of American Track & Field, Athletes Only and Lationos Corriendo, among their seven print publications and five websites, is a proud member of the Running Network, LLC, which represents 35 of the finest regional and national athletics and running publications in North America. American Track & Field [ http://www.american-trackandfield.com ] is a professional magazine geared to coaches, athletes and enthusiasts of track & field, race walking, road racing and cross country running. Links to all Shooting Star Media publications can be found on its website at http://www.shootingstarmediainc.com .
—— —————————————–
Individual subscriptions: USD 50/EUR 45/year. To make payment arrangements, send an email to bob@trackprofile.com or you can pay by credit card via PayPal at [http://www.trackprofile.com/dispatch.html ]. Likewise, direct all comments, suggestions, questions, and corrections via email to bob@trackprofile.com . More info at http://www.trackprofile.com .
END – TPR #717 – 03-Jan-2008
For more on the death of Lucas Sang, please click: http://http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=42811.html
Author
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
View all posts